#Old crow cuppa joe movie#

And in the end Sam bodily carries Frodo to the cross (Mt. Sam does do a heroic act to save Frodo’s life at Cirith Ungol. Tolkien’s epic (and deeply Catholic) work “The Lord of the Rings.” Not Gandalf, not Aragorn, not even the ring-bearer Frodo - but humble, faithful, loyal, dutiful, simple, hardworking servant Samwise Gamgee.

#Old crow cuppa joe movie#

If we are looking for a more accurate movie image for savior of the Savior, I suggest not a Marvel superhero, but that quiet servant from J.R.R. When my own son (our first child) lay dying in my arms, the hardest thing for me was not being able to do anything. Perhaps Joseph’s greatest suffering? Seeing the suffering of his wife and son and not being able to do anything about it - except be there. (One translation of “carpenter” is “laborer.” I grew up in Pittsburgh, so I think of Joseph as a tired, underpaid steel worker.) He has to take them as refugees to a land where they are misunderstood. The “heroic moment” flows from daily routine.Īnd like any father, he has anxiety over the future of his children, he anticipates the suffering of his wife and son, he is pained by not being able to provide more for his family. This is the pattern: Husband, father, faithful Jewish man Joseph simply does what he should do, for the sake of others, without fanfare, without grand words, without seeking his own comfort first, despite fear and weariness, without fully understanding. “When he awoke from sleep, Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” Joseph is savior in his hiddenness, silence, obedient action, daily routine and embrace of suffering. No, Joseph’s saving the Savior is of a different order. And they save the world for all to see how many times over. They have cosmic powers: They see through things, fly on their own, have superhuman strength, get small, get big. They’re fantastic, flamboyant, futuristic.

We live in the culture of the superhero, the Marvel saviors: Hulk, Thor, Captain Marvel, Black Widow. Thanks be to God! Honor be to Joseph!īut as I ponder this episode, I have a problem. Joseph the Laborer rose, took the child and his mother and escaped by night. Yes, having been warned of the danger in a dream, Joseph alone stood between the murderous paranoid king, Herod, and the newborn baby. Joseph speak, for this honor is his alone he alone is savior of the Savior.” “Be silent, patriarchs be silent, prophets be silent, apostles, confessors and martyrs. Who saved his life? It was Joseph,” declares Blessed William Joseph Chaminade.